A Roy Castle weekend

What have Roy Castle, Oak Hill parkrun & myself have in common? Apart from tap dancing, we're all record breakers!

Enough of the silliness, let's talk running. Oak Hill is the local event for our friend Fergie & they sent out a Facebook update last week saying that they wanted to break the event attendance record & go into triple figures for the first time. I cajoled Paula into running & also persuaded Sean to make the trip from south of the river to join us. Joelene also made an appearance, fresh from vowing to never run a half again (and consequently signing up to the Richmond Half).
Just from the car park alone you could tell that the event had a lot more people present than usual, we managed to grab the last space.

The Run

Another event I went into without a plan, aiming for a sub 25 based on my decent return at Chelmsford the week before & the knowledge that Oak Hill is a fast course.
I decided to line up alongside Sean, wanting to make a fast start if possible. Once underway I had a strange sensation, I actually felt fast. The past few parkruns I've scraped a time, or been unaware of my pace. This week, I felt like I had pace, everything felt easy. These are the kind of days you look forward to. My pace was excellent throughout the first three kilometres, all sub 5 minute so I was assured of dipping under 25. I then experienced what I'm starting to call the fourth kilometre fade.
This keeps happening and it's something I'm struggling to work out. My fourth km is usually the slowest. The final kilometre never causes an issue as the finish line is in sight, I just seem to slip into a lull. This week the 4th km took 5:04, enough to throw a sub 24 out of the window. The modest hill that you take on three times tends to bite harder on every lap and though my friends rave about the downhill finish to the lap, I find the start of it at a funny gradient that throws my rhythm out.
I finished strongly though and crossed the line in 24:24, a course PB. Sean beat the sub 22 hoodoo he'd experienced outside of Bushy. Paula ran a tactically astute race, keeping Joel ahead of her for two laps and then pipping him to the line as Joel PB'd with 29:05. Fergie's recovery from knee issues continued with a mid 33. Oak Hill also PB'd, 148 runners! I guess the next target will be 200 & maybe a group tap dance......

The Eat

We took in a post parkrun drink at the adjacent cafe where cake was in plentiful supply for those who wanted it. I tucked into an ice cream, a PB brings rewards after all!
On the way home we picked up some Marshmallow cookies from the excellent Adnams shop in Saffron Walden, resisting the temptation to stock up on their award winning gins!

The Conclusion

A really satisfactory run. As I said earlier, the first time I've felt genuinely fast in a long time. Six weeks out from Helsinki and I feel I'm in a good place. My plan has become quite basic now. Parkrun every Saturday for speed, long run every Sunday / Monday to keep topping up the endurance. Easy runs at the start of the week and an interval / tempo / hill run midweek. I'm feeling good, the Brentwood Half & the two parkruns that have sandwiched it have given me a lot of confidence.
This Saturday were due to visit the inaugural Basildon parkrun, here's hoping it's a fast one.